


Recipe for normalcy

by ragnehild



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29723055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragnehild/pseuds/ragnehild
Summary: After a long while, V has someone to come home to.
Relationships: Goro Takemura & V, Goro Takemura/V
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Recipe for normalcy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Commander_Ledi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commander_Ledi/gifts).



> written as a gift for @commander-ledi for a valentine's day event on Arasaka Corp discord

Adrenaline still coursing through his veins, V turned the corner and entered one of the more populated streets of Vista Del Rey, only now feeling his pounding heart slowly return to its’ normal pace as he disappeared into the crowd. He doubted the Maelstromers would give chase, not this far and certainly not this close to an NCPD patrol parked across the street, one of the cops shooting him a warning glare and he walked past. V looked over his shoulder one last time before holstering his gun and forced himself to walk a little slower, attempting to control his ravaged breathing while he was at it, the cold air piercing at his lungs with each exasperated inhale.

The job hasn’t gone exactly as planned. For one, he wasn’t supposed to get seen, so there goes the bonus Dino had promised him, but that wasn’t all. This time he couldn’t just snug himself up on some roof and take the shots from afar, he actually had to get in there and do the deed in closer proximity than he usually preferred but ended up seriously misjudging how perceptive some of these guys were. There was no going back, he had to go in there with a handgun and mantis blades and in times like these the chances of him not getting a bullet himself were laughably slim. At least he got lucky and got away without any serious wounds, no need to swing by Viktor’s to patch him up, but he still felt sore, bruises no doubt already forming beneath his clothes. reminding him of his lapse of judgment with every step he took, treading the line between being painful and simply annoying. It was a normal part of the job, nothing he hasn’t done before, but V couldn’t help himself but measure the quality of his work by how battered he walked away from it. He’s had better days. 

Despite that, a pleasant chime of eddies being transferred into his account still made V feel a tinge of satisfaction, snatching him out of his inner monologue. Before he had a chance to go back to considering all the things he could’ve done differently, his comms buzzed with the sound of an incoming text message. V pulled the interface up, half expecting a passive-aggressive text from the fixer, but it was Goro’s icon glowing. V hummed to himself and quickly opened the chat.

**[Takemura, 19:23:21] V, when you are finished with the gig, come see me.**

**Did something happen? Are you alright?**

**[Takemura, 19:24:46 ] I am, do not worry. Just come to the apartment when you are done.**

Then, a few seconds later, followed by:

**[Takemura, 19:24:59 ] (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡**  
  
---  
  
V couldn’t help but roll his eyes slightly, the smallest smirk appearing on his face. It surprised him each time, the contrast between the stern and serious demeanor of his partner and the way he attempted to soften the tone of his texts with those over the top emoticons. It was cute, in a way, seeing Takemura come up with new combinations each time he realized his message could come off as dry or too serious. V would, ironically at first, do the same in response and before he realized, the suggestion bar above his comms was filled with those things. 

Not that he would mind. Not in the slightest. 

***

Takemura was standing by the small kitchen counter that snugly hugged the side of the coach, barely enough room on its surface to put anything other than necessary ingredients on it, that’s how narrow the thing was. After moving in, V had lived on burritos the vending machine so helpfully provided for a while, but it was a step down from Mama Wells’ cooking so profound that he eventually decided that he can’t just live on something that barely resembled meat hugged in a sauce-soaked tortilla. V was never much of an interior designer and just got the first one he saw, figuring it’ll be more than enough for one person. It was certainly enough for him, but despite his fondness for culinary arts, he didn’t have the sway that Takemura apparently had. A large pot was simmering on the cooker, filling the room with a scent that made V’s mouth water the second he stepped over the door frame. Takemura was standing with his back to the door, chopping a large, peculiar looking vegetable and throwing the perfectly symmetrical cubes into the pot, sidestepping to stir the mixture. 

Nibbles was hovering next to him, carefully balancing in between the many small bowls or half-used packages of ingredients, stretching its tiny body to get a good sniff of the soup, but quickly lost interest and focused on the tray with cut up pieces of fish. Takemura, without even a glance in the cat’s direction, as if it wasn’t the first time he was doing it, reached out a hand to gently push Nibbles away from it and turned, looking it straight in the eye.

“It is not for you,” Goro said, murmuring the words in Japanese as V’s software helpfully provided him with a translation in a small, blue font on the bottom of his interface. Nibbles meowed, disappointment clearly audible, but there was something in Takemura’s scolding voice that made the cat redirect its attention somewhere else. 

V walked up to him as quietly as he could manage, but he definitely saw Goro tilt his head. Damn, V could swear he could  _ feel _ the other man chuckle as the merc wrapped his arms around Goro’s waist, 

“The fox has reached its den. It is ravaged with hunger” V murmured, resting his forehead against the taller man’s back. 

It was a game they played sometimes, V teasing Takemura about his attempts at a code early on. When he first brought it up, V could swear he saw a blush over his partner’s face before he managed to pull himself back together. Eventually, he picked it up and so they played that back and forth. 

Finally, Takemura turned to face V, a gentleness in his silver eyes that V felt proud was reserved just for him, for their moments alone, free of the murderous pace that their lives were taking. It almost felt as if time itself had slowed down the moment V stepped through the door of his apartment, knowing that Takemura will be there for him. 

“It is good to see you,” Goro said, leaning down a little to leave a kiss on the smaller man’s lips, V almost melting into the touch. That was it, then. That thread drawing him into Goro’s orbit, that desperate twisting warmth, the fact that he felt safe there, in that moment.

“Likewise,” V said, breaking the kiss. “I see you’ve been keeping yourself busy. What’s the occasion?”

“Does there need to be one?”

“I suppose not.”

V saw a flash of concern run through Takemura’s face, softening his otherwise hard features even further when the man finally had a chance to take a good look at his partner. Before he had a chance to comment on it, V shook his head slightly.

“I should probably go and take a shower first. I swear it looks worse than it really is.”

Takemura just hummed in response, his hand palming V’s cheek, fingers gently brushing around a shallow cut on the merc’s cheek. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just a little battered up. Nothing a MaxDoc can’t fix.”

“Would you tell me if it couldn’t?”

“Of course,” V said, a little thrown off. Takemura must have sensed something in his voice, a sincerity that the merc so rarely showed when it came to matters like this one, that he let it go, not pressing the issue further. 

“Off you go then. Dinner should be ready by the time you come back.”

***

V stepped into the bathroom, already getting to work on undoing his tie on the way. Fingers still fighting the silken knot, the merc stood in front of the mirror and took a good look at himself. To say his clothes looked ruffled would be an understatement. The normally perfectly ironed shirt was wrinkled, the material stained with dirt and blood, though this time only some of it was his. At least he didn’t feel much pain anymore, broken tissue already mending itself with the help of inhaled stimulants. V let out a heavy sight and quickly undressed, not even bothering to fold the clothes before throwing them into the laundry basket, silently praying that the dry cleaning service in the building would be good enough for that. It should be, getting blood and various body fluids from the tenants’ clothes wasn’t exactly unheard of around here. 

He set the shower for as hot as it’d go in an attempt to ease the soreness out of his battered muscles, watching the reddened water pale into rose and then to nothing as it swirled down the drain. Looking himself over, he noticed some scrapes and already scabbed over small cuts on his arms that escaped his notice before taking off his shirt, the side of his torso was bruised and tender to the touch, something that the stimulants couldn’t fix. It was nothing to be concerned about, if it bothered him later he could just take some painkillers and call it a night, there was only so much those portable nanite treatments could do. V knew he should be happy it wasn’t worse, just a normal day at work, but damn, he felt tired. Exhausted. The scorching hot water burned his skin in the sweetest way possible, brute-forcing his muscles into untwisting, but it brought him little comfort he so desperately seeked. 

V grabbed a bar of soap and scrubbed himself quickly, eager to be done with it and go back to the other room, finally ease himself into a glimpse of normalcy, but above all make sure that the man cooking dinner for him wasn’t just his imagination running rampant. He scolded himself for even entertaining the thought. Of course, Goro was real, V could still feel the linger of his mouth and the scruff of his beard from when the other man kissed him, he could hear the soft clucking of kitchen utensils over the shower, and yet this fear pressing on his chest, expanding and gripping his throat like a vice, started slowly taking over, strangling him with the hot, steamy air that filled the bathroom. 

“V” the merc almost jumped out of his skin at the voice snapping him out of his thoughts and turned his head. Johnny was there, glitching into existence, perched up on the sink counter. “You’re doing that thing of yours again. Snap out of it.”

“What?”

The merc could swear Johnny rolled his eyes behind those shades of his before taking them off, letting his hand rest on his lap and gesturing with the other. “Spiraling. Your own little corpo is still there, acting as mother hen.”

“Do you really need to be this snarky about it?” V finally said, turning off the faucet before stepping out of the shower. He tried looking over Johnny’s shoulder at the mirror, but couldn’t make up much over the layer of steam that covered the usually pristine glass. He grabbed the nearest towel and dried himself off before stopping to realize he didn’t even bring a change of clothes into the bathroom with him. Johnny smirked and V shot him a murderous glance before adding: “You clearly didn’t mind the last time Goro was cooking, even said he’s, and I quote, quite decent at it. Let me tell you, whatever sensory aftertaste of it you got going isn’t even close to the real thing.”

“Point is'' Johnny said, blatantly ignoring V’s last statement. “He ain’t going anywhere. He looks at you all puppy eyes, quite fitting considering how he’s Arasaka’s…”

“Just quit it already, point taken,” V replied, wrapping the towel around his hips. “It’s just, I sometimes…” he trailed off, unsure how to put what was going in his head into words.

“I know” Johnny’s voice was surprisingly soft, gentle even, so unfitting for his usually brash demeanor. It surprised V each time, the brief moments where Johnny could stop being an asshole when it mattered. “Just go and relax a little, you earned it.” and with that, he glitched out, leaving V alone with his thoughts. No, not alone. Goro was there with him.

The merc stepped out of the bathroom, stealing a glance at Takemura, who seemed to have cleaned the counter entirely in the meantime, leaving only two large bowls to pour soup into. He gave V a small smile as the merc made his way to the dresser to pick out something more comfortable than the clothes he usually presented himself in to the world. He finally settled on a simple, but rather eye straining tank top and pants, not taking too much time to ponder it. They weren’t going out, not like they did that much, considering how Takemura was a wanted man and needed to lay low. Maybe in a different life, V thought as he made his way back into the bathroom to hang the towel to dry. 

When he stepped out again, Goro was pouring the soup into the bowls and turned to face V. 

“Better?” he asked, handing the younger man a dish. It was made out of fine china, little flowers drawn onto the otherwise pristine white surface. V didn’t recall owning something like this, but then again, he hasn't been using them much for the last few months. 

“Much better,” V said, taking the bowl from Goro and taking a seat on the couch. He dipped the spoon into the brownish liquid and let it swirl for a second, pieces of cooked vegetables and meat swimming around it before he finally brought it up to his mouth. Only when the rich taste flooded his senses he realized how hungry he’d been. Goro sat right next to him with his own portion but didn’t start eating, his eyes fixed on his partner instead. 

“What do you think?” he asked, just barely concealing uncertainty in his voice. 

V was silent for a few seconds before he finally swallowed the savory liquid and turned his head to look at Goro, a wide smile on his face, for the first time that day. 

“It’s perfect.” he simply said, taking note of how Goro’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Where did you get the recipe, exactly? I’ve never eaten anything even remotely similar.”

“My grandmother used to make it for me when I was a child,” Goro said, leaning back on the coach. “She never gave me the recipe, obviously, but I did my best to recreate it the way I remember she always made it.”

“So try it,” V said, sensing Goro’s hesitation. “Are you...worried you didn’t get it right?”

“I am not naive, I know it will not be the same,” the other man said, toying with the spoon between his fingers. “But it does bring back memories. It is what I told you. Bad ones wash away with time and the only thing that remains is the simplicity of childhood.”

“Mmmm,” V hummed, putting his own bowl on the table in front of them to free his hands. “But the thing with memories is that you can always make new ones. Does it truly matter if it’s something else? It might not be the dish your grandmother made for you, but it’s something you made for me. It doesn’t have to be a competition between the two.”

Goro was silent for a few seconds, considering the merc’s words before finally submerging the spoon in the bowl. 

“You are right. Maybe it is not a bad thing if they are not exactly the same.” he leaned down slightly, taking a sip, a look of wonder on his face. “It most definitely tastes different” he finally said, a serious look on his face before his lips curved into a gentle smile, a look in his eyes that V could only describe as playful “but I did what I could with the ingredients at hand.” 

V raised his brow. “So you’re admitting that you can buy real food in Night City after all?”

“No V, you can buy real  _ ingredients _ , at great cost and personal expanse, might I add, but food is something you have to make yourself. Not that I mind.”

“Quite the opposite?”

“Quite the opposite.”


End file.
